Manufacturing

ITF Intertex Portugal, the country’s leading textiles-apparel event, gets under way about two weeks from now. The country’s textiles industry is much like its football ecosystem—not very big in size, but a force to reckon with, and just as vibrant. Managing Director Serhan Pul tells us what makes Portugal’s textiles-apparel industry tick and how it is adapting to the changing times.

A new study finds that 75% of an apparel product's environmental footprint stems from areas of impact beyond carbon emissions, and reveals raw material choices and specific manufacturing processes - not packaging, distribution, or even assembly - contribute up to 90% of product impact.

In a move to solidify its position as a key player in the global textile and apparel market, Egypt has launched a comprehensive plan to address the existing challenges by establishing two integrated textile cities designed to encompass the entire textile production process, from spinning and weaving to dyeing and garment manufacturing.

The path to circularity in fashion is not paved with singular solutions or isolated innovations. It is shaped by the willingness of stakeholders to come together, question assumptions, and collaborate in new ways. The ESCF project has shown that manufacturers, when given space and voice, are not just implementers—they are co-creators of the future. 

Although apparel and footwear exports account for approximately 15% of Viet Nam’s GDP, this sector faces critical sustainability challenges, particularly in energy consumption, carbon emissions, and resource efficiency, says a new report.

A major player in the Enabling Systemic Circularity in Fashion project of the Forum for the Future was leading apparel manufacturer, Crystal International Group. A spokesperson of the group talks about how brands and retailers can collaborate with their manufacturing partners in making the concept of circular fashion work in reality.

Taiwanese player Yee Chain International Ltd was a key participant in a project that sought to understand the systemic challenges that are stymieing the fashion industry’s efforts to go the whole hog. Chief Sustainability Officer, Martin Su, and Global Sustainability and Circularity Scaling Manager, Anett Soti, talk about ground truths in this engaging conversation.

This is not the first time that India has found itself with a heaven-sent opportunity. This time, however, all indicators are that the ground situation is different. Will India be able to upstage China in the global textiles and apparel trade? A ground report.

The Big Bro vice-like squeeze of the sweeping tariff hikes will soon be felt far beyond edgy boardrooms and uneasy stock exchanges, and there are sporadic reports of this already starting to take effect. For hundreds of thousands of garment workers—many in the factories across South and Southeast Asia, and Africa to a lesser extent—the arbitrary spike in trade tariffs will be a matter of life and death.

The lesson of the current US tariffs crisis roiling the trade world is this: you cannot keep relying on one country as your export destination. From now on it has to be ‘US Plus One’.